Goddess in Disguise
by Live.Laugh.Love.Listen.Music
Summary: I am not the fragile, weak-minded human girl, Bella Swan. Who would want to be? No, I am the Immortal Isabelle, Goddess of Independence, Courage and Bravery, twin sister of Athena and one of the Goddesses of Olympus. Adopted, now on AO3
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga or the Percy Jackson Saga. Similarly, I do not own anything recognisable. I own my plotline and my OCs. **

**This is the prologue to Goddess in Disguise. It is a rewrite of the original version. Hopefully, you will enjoy this version better (I have tried to make Isabelle more of a goddess – mature, with an arrogance acceptable for her age and status – and develop the plotline so it is more coherent, the cohesion is better and it links more into my squeal in the making, The Life and Times of a Teenage Hybrid (Renesmee's story, as a Demi-Godpire). **

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated, as it helps me improve as a writer. I reply to all of my reviews (if they are anonymous then I will post a message in the following chapter). If you want to tell me your favourite names, I will include them in either this fic or the squeal as a child of Isabelle, some other demigod, the friends or enemies of Isabelle's mortal children, or children of Isabelle who existed in the past. You can also chose the names of the fathers of Isabelle's children. Although please don't send in names like Zephr Jaselina Stella Smith, or Mayela Arabel Brown, because would you **_**really**_** name your child that? **

**Prologue**

People think that they know me; that they know my life story. They think that I am a clumsy, mildly good looking teenager. They think my parents split up only a few months after I was born. They think I was raised in sunny Arizona by an eccentric mother who I took care more of her than she did of me. They think I uprooted myself after my mother remarried, sent myself to the small town of Forks in Washington to live with my police chief of a father. They think, after a rocky start, I fell in love with the dashing vampire Edward Cullen. They think I was hunted down and almost killed by a nomadic vampire trio. They think my 18th birthday went horribly wrong. They think Edward Cullen left me. They think I become cationic.

They were wrong.

I am not clumsy. I am not 'mildly good-looking'. I am certainly not a teenager. My father _ate_ my mother. I was raised in Ancient Greece, over six millennia ago. I didn't uproot myself, I was banished from Olympus. My father isn't a police chief, and he certainly doesn't live in Forks. I never fell in love with Edward Cullen. He was... a distraction from my banishment.

People think that I will discover feelings for Jacob Black. They think I will save Edward from his suicidal attempts to become an enemy of the Volturi. They think I will graduate from Forks High School with the prospect of immediate vampire life. They think that the Cullens will face an army of newborn vampires, all intent on draining me of my blood. They think I will marry Edward Cullen and have my honeymoon on Isle Esme, where I will discover a love of sex. They think I shall fall pregnant. After a short but painful pregnancy, I will give birth to my vampire hybrid daughter named Renesmee. They think I finally become a vampire. They think Jacob Black imprinted on Renesmee. They think the Volturi will catch wind of my daughter and, believing her to be an immortal child, will come in the hopes of eradicating the Cullens. They think the Cullens will gather witnesses. They believe there shall be a non-violent faceoff, wherein the Cullens shall prove their innocence. They think that the Cullens shall walk off into the sunset, their faces glittering. A perfect life.

Wrong. All wrong.

None of that will happen. None of it. I bet I can guess your reaction. 'But _Bella_, you and Edward are _Soul-Mates_. You are perfect for each other. Yin and Yang.'

Whatever.

Who would want to be soul mates with someone who describes themselves as _'a sick, masochistic lion'_? Who would answer to _that_ lonely heart advert?

I am not the weak mortal Isabella Marie Swan. In all honesty, who would want to be? No, my name is Isabelle, though I am no ordinary Isabelle, nor is that is not my full title. I am Isabelle, Goddess of Bravery, Courage and Independence, daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods and Lord of the Sky, and Isidora, a nymph from the ancient days, wife to Hermes , God of messengers, travellers, medicine and athletes, mentor to Lysis, minor Goddess of Bravery, and mother to hundreds of children through the ages.

This is one chapter in the long book of my life.


	2. Chapter 1: First Sight

**It has been almost a year since I updated but finally I am back! This is the rewritten chapter 1. I have also rewritten the prologue, so if you haven't read that, please do. **

**Twilight Timeline: Note on the timeline: I am using roughly the same timeline between the start of twilight and the Edwards departure in New Moon. However, I have set the evens about a decade in the past (the 1990's!). This means there will still be the same time between events, for example, Bella did arrive in the January, the James attack still happened in the Easter(Spring Break if you're American) and Edward left in the end of the September, it's just a decade earlier. This is so I have a cohesive timeline for this fic and the sequel, because Renesmee is going to grow like a normal child in the sequel. **

**February 1994**

**Chapter 1**

It was a normal day in the small town of Forks, Washington. The sky was covered with an oppressing blanket of grey, the usual precipitation falling from the sky. I hatethe rain. I am used to spending my days in the winterless, rainless luxury of my family's palace on Mt Olympus. It never rains on Olympus and yet the soil is lush and fertile, the plants bright and blooming. It's a side effect of living with the Goddess of Agriculture: all plants within ten miles flourish.

I don't like to talk about Olympus though. It makes me homesick. I was banished from Olympus just over a month ago, along with my husband Hermes. Oh Hermes, I miss you already, my handsome, funny, loving husband. You see, Hermes and I are quite mischievous. When things seem to be going quietly we try to stir it up a little. Pranks, jokes, that kind of thing. Well, life had been pretty quiet on Olympus for a while, so Hermes and I decided to do something that would really get a reaction.

We had sex in the throne room.

Are you shocked? So was father. We had done some shocking things in the past, but nothing on that scale. Lady Hera was furious at us for '_befouling the throne room_'. Hermes and I were banished from Olympus for a year. And if being banished wasn't bad enough, there were terms to go with our banishment. We are not allowed to contact anyone on Olympus and we were not allowed to contact each other. That was the worst part. Hermes' and I have been attached ever since we married, back in the Ancient Days, either at the hip, or on our subconscious level our minds were together.

Father stripped Hermes and I of almost all our powers, and, to add salt to injury, he made us temporarily half-mortal, although not quite like demi-gods. We lost the majority of our powers, took on a mortal appearance and became susceptible to things like disease. We couldn't die, but we could become seriously injured and ill, which happened quite a lot, believe me. Of all possible human outcomes, I had to be the one who had the ability to attract danger, like a magnet in a scrap yard. However, I didn't attract any monsters, just human dangers, such as skidding cars. That really puzzled me, as my scent is similar to that of an extremely powerful demi-god, only Ichor still flows in my veins, so the scent is stronger. Monsters wouldn't twig I was a goddess,but they would be able to smell the godly blood in my veins. Something seemed to be blocking the monsters and at first I had no idea what it could be. I _smelt_ whatever it was;a sickly sweet scent that covered most of town. It was strongest in the woods, as I found out when I went to escape the narrow mindedness of the small town, though it was also very strong around the school and the hospital. There was something with a very strong scent that was frightening away all monsters and yet I had no idea what it could be.

Until I met _them._

The Cullens. A self proclaimed 'family' of vampires, determined to live with the little humanity they had left, to save human lives by feeding on animals. I knew what they were as soon as I saw them, though I had to pretend that I didn't, to protect the image I had of a normal human girl. I remember the moment I first saw them with perfect clarity.

_It was my first day of school. I was trying to keep a low profile. The less people who were interested the better, because although I had a cover story, people were always interested in the tiny little details, ones I hadn't quite worked out yet. Inventing a new person is remarkably difficult and I have never been the world's greatest actor. I had to be in character for every moment of the day. _

_The trigonometry teacher, whose name I cannot be bothered to remember, was the only one who made me stand up and introduce myself in front of the class. If I do say so myself, I played the part of a nervous, embarrassed teenager quite well, stammering out a few lines of my cover story and tripping over my own feet for good measure. I kept my head down for the rest of the lesson, as any shy, embarrassed teenager would. So far, so good. _

_The first couple of hours of lessons, which, to my surprise, were actually quite interesting (so that's how mortals think that works!). Lady Athena would have loved it for certain. I began to recognise the faces that I shared more than one class with. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. Of course, I lied. _

'_The weather is okay...'_

'_The people are really nice...'_

'_Very different to Arizona, yes...' _

_I hoped that they were acceptable answers. I was also trying to diplomatic so people wouldn't come to fake conclusions (oh Bella, she's such a bitch/snob...etc).Being hated was not top of my 'to-do-list'. I don't think father would be pleased if I blasted away some mortal just because they bullied me. At least I never needed the map._

_A girl, who I vaguely recognised from Trigonometry and Spanish, walked me to lunch. She was tiny, but with wildly curly dark hair that added on a lot to her height. She was wearing lots of make-up and a top that was surely had a neckline too low for school. Without the make-up, she might have been passably pretty, but, as the saying on Olympus goes, she ain't no Aphrodite! I could tell straight away that she was the slightly bitchy, gossipy type. She was prattling on about teachers and classes, which I didn't bother listening to, more focused on keeping the expression of a shy newbie becoming one of absolute boredom. Thankfully, it was my first day and I wouldn't be expected to remember everything. _

_She steered me towards a table full of her friends, and I acted as any normal mortal would, thankful yet slightly apprehensive. She introduced me to everyone, and every name slipped from my mind immediately, except from one. Angela. Where had I heard that name recently? I tried to keep my expression slightly apprehensive, while my brain was whirring like a clock. I glanced up at her, hiding my scrutiny by looking at other people on the table. She was tall, quite pretty, with blonde hair and grey eyes. The eyes..._

_Of course! My sister, Lady Athena, had apparently lost track of a half blooded daughter called Angela. All traces of her half blood scent had disappeared. Something had covered it up and Athena had not thought it wise to scout out a possibly dangerous area, looking for a daughter who might not even be alive. No, that was a demi-god's job._

_But was the Angela sitting next to me a half blood? I inhaled sharply, pretending to be dubiously sniffing the sandwich Charlie had made me this morning while actually inhaling the scent of the obvious half blood sitting next to me. Though did she know of her heritage? Her scent was obvious to me, the goddess in disguise, but it wasn't as strong as those I had met who had been claimed, or even those who hadn't, but knew of their heritage. So it seemed I had an unknowing daughter of Athena on my hands. She probably hadn't had any contact with monsters because of that scent that seemed to be blocking everything out. I absentmindedly noticed a boy who had wandered up to me in English, covered in pimples waving at me from across the room. _

_It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to avoid conversation with seven curious strangers and puzzling over the mysterious scent, that I first saw them. And then I knew what I had missed. I knew what they were. Vampires._

_They were creatures of the darkness, spawn of Gaea. She had created them during the Titan war, for though they couldn't kill a God, their venom was enough to temporary disable one, and their strength could injure enough to make the healing process long and tedious. This was all before my time. _

_We keep a close eye on Vampires. After the Titan War, Father let them go unchecked for years, too busy creating his kingdom. Back then, there weren't enough of us to keep a close eye on the individual vampires either. There aren't really enough now. Instead, we keep an eye on the death toll vampires create. If the death toll reaches a certain level, Hades sends word, and Father sends someone in to capture and kill the creature and bends the Mist to make any humans witnesses forget. Such event happened rather recently, towards the South. The concept of vampire armies came to the mind of a relatively young vampire ("How many thousands of years did that take? I mean, come on!" Said Ares) and the deep south became a slaughter ground. We took care of the 'mastermind' behind the idea. _

_Around the same time, we became aware of a group of almost civilised vampires who called themselves 'The Volturi', who wanted to keep the existence of vampires a secret by keeping the feeding and exposure under control, which was fine by us. We keep an eye on them too, because of the leader, a Vampire called Aro, who was created in the time of Ancient Greece. He was power hungry, and his followers were both devoted and 'gifted'. They could be a problem, sometime in the future. _

_Anyway, vampires in Forks. The idea seemed ridiculous and yet there was nothing else on Earth, Olympus or the Underworld that had a scent like that. _

_They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. Had they noticed my scent, and decided to stay away? Possible, but they were monsters: why would they stop themselves from attacking? Or where they, like me, trying not to attract attention to themselves. But why? Why would they do that? Had they some malicious plot? _

_There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. Were they trying their hardest to stand out? They weren't gawking at me, giving me the chance to examine them further. _

_Their appearances were completely different and yet they all had the tell-tale characteristics that mark out their species. Of the five, three were male, two were female. _

_Of the three male vampires, one was muscled like a weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. He reminded me slightly of Ares; they shared the dark hair and muscles. This vampire was tiny however, compared to Ares. This vampire was probably even stronger than the average vampire: I could tell by the confident way he held his form._

_Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. My eyes, alike to a demi-god's, could make out hundreds of bite shaped scars running up and down his visible skin: forearms, hands, the back of his neck. He had almost certainly been in the southern bloodbaths. He was dangerous. I would have to keep an eye on him. And yet, there was something uncomfortably familiar about him, his hair, the way he held himself. I glanced discretely back at Angela and cursed under my breath in Ancient Greek. Was it possible that this vampire was another child of Athena? It was possible. If he had lived through the Southern Wars then he had to be either smart and battle wise, or very very lucky. I would have to ask my sister. My eyes shifted. _

_The last male vampire was lanky, far less bulky than the other two, with untidy, bronze-coloured hair, though he too had his fair share of muscle. He was much more boyish than the others, who looked like they would have been in their early twenties when they had been transformed. They certainly looked more like teachers than students. He must have been young when he was changed, not yet into legal adulthood. _

_The female vampires were polar opposites. The tall had a modelesque figure, the kind you saw on the covers of fashion magazines. She was the kind of female that made every girl around her take a dunk on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. I could tell immediately that she though herself the most beautiful woman in existence. She was nothing on Aphrodite, but was more beautiful than any mortal woman. However, this female would have to be a daughter of the love goddess, or blessed by her, at least, when she was mortal. _

_The other female vampire was short and pixie like, thin to the extreme. Her hair, deep black and cropped short, pointed in every direction like some kind of hedgehog._

_What worried me the most was the dark shadows under their eyes and the blackness of their irises. They were thirsty._

_What were they doing? Were they planning some kind of mass killing? Did they not know how dangerous it was to be thirsty in a place filled with mortals? In a school? These children had not lived for even two decades! Mere seconds compared to even the youngest godling. I would not be able to contain myself if they started attacking. _

_As I watched, the pixie vampire rose with her tray — unopened soda, unbitten apple; was she trying to stand out? — and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that hinted to the speed and power she could actually exert. I watched, amazed that nobody had notice her a threat until she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than she should have, if she was trying to fit in with the mortals. _

_My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging. They looked like marble statues, and again I wondered if they were actually trying to fit in, or did they believe that they were acting like normal mortals. _My_ acting was better than theirs!_

_I needed more information. I turned to the girl who had 'taken me under her wing'; the one I had labelled as a 'slightly bitchy, gossipy type'. Where better to get information? _

_"Who are _they_?__" I tried to act like a normal mortal teenage girl.__As she looked up to see who I meant — though already knowing, probably, from my tone — suddenly the youngest looking male vampire looked at her. He looked for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark – thirsty - eyes flickered to mine. He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could while keeping to mortal speed, though I dropped my eyes at once._

_In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest — it was as if she had called his name, and he'd looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer. He – with his vampire hearing – would have heard my question – they all would have – and he was acting as a scout, looking out for any mention of them. My neighbour giggled in embarrassment, though I saw nothing to be embarrassed about, at least from a mortal perspective. _

_"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath, though I knew that all the vampires would hear every word._

_I glanced sideways at the bronze haired vampire, who was looking at his tray now, picking a__bagel to pieces with long, pale fingers. What mortal did that in public without the intention to eat?_

_His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, yet I knew he was speaking to them, so quietly that no mortal would be able to hear. From this distance, my demi-god like ears couldn't pick up anything. I would have to be closer for that._

_Their names were unpopular for this time period. The last time I had heard the name Rosalie was over sixty years ago. It was the demi-god daughter of Nemisis, who married my son John. They had passed away about two decades ago, somehow managing to survive monster attacks into their seventies. Charlie was their grandson, which is how I came to be staying with him. He knew about the Gods and Goddesses, yet had such a small godly aura that monsters did not pick up his scent. I pulled myself out of my memories._

_"They are… very nice-looking." I struggled with this statement. I was trying to act like a normal teenager but I disliked complementing Vampires. _

_"Yes!" The girl, whose name I suddenly remembered as Jessica, agreed with another giggle. "They're all __together __though — Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they __live __together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town. If only she could see the relationship on Olympus! I was married to my half-brother, for Gods sake! The relationships in this Vampire household were quite unremarkable, really._

_"Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…"_

_"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties." I highly doubted that. "They're all adopted. The Hales __are __brother and sister, twins — the blondes — and they're foster children." _

_"They look a little old for foster children." Way too old..._

_"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that." _

_"That's really kind of nice — for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."_

_"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy at their looks, though if she knew what these 'Cullens' really were, I bet she wouldn't be so envious._

_"__I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added._

_Throughout all this conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the vampire family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat. How did they think this was fitting in?_

_"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked, asking in the mortal view of 'always'. They cannot have lived here, unchanging for more than a decade or so, without anybody noticing. Yet surely one of the Gods would have realised that they had lived here for any length of time. _

_"No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."_

_Ah. That explained it. A 'family' of vampires that moved around from place to place, probably staying away from the southern sun, moving every few years to keep up the charade. But why? Why do this?_

"_They look quite tired." I threw that in to see the reaction. All the vampires stiffened in their chair, probably resisting the urge to turn to observe me, or try to kill me. _

_Jessica looked quite confused, as she rightly should. It wasn't a normal human thing to say. Her eyes probably hadn't picked up their shadows under their eyes._

"_Yeah..." she said._

"_Maybe they do other things at night." I hoped the vampires would sense the double meaning to my words. Jessica, unsurprisingly, only picked up the first._

"_Bella! Ew, gross!" She squealed, then "You think it's true?" Always the gossip._

_Two of the vampires had relaxed somewhat at my words: the blonde female and the dark haired male. They probably had only caught the first morning, and believed being thought as sex-addicts was better than being known as blood sucking fiends. The other two (the blonde and bronze haired males) hadn't relaxed though. They had probably caught the double meaning, as I had thought they would. If the blonde was a son of my sister then he was smart enough to read on both sides of the line, and he would have used another smart one as a scout. _

_As I examined them, the bronzed haired male looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression, with just a hint of anxiety. Did he know I was no ordinary student, or was he just curious at my questions responses? As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation. What?_

_"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. _

_I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me. What would a Vampire want with a seemingly normal teenage girl, apart from to drink from? He and his 'family' had made no move to attack anyone so far, and I had a sneaking suspicion they weren't planning to. _

_"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him." She sniffed. I wondered when he'd turned her down. She would probably be glad of the fact that he did, if she knew the truth._

_I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared lifted, as if he were smiling. After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They all were__noticeably graceful — even the big, brawny one. Why do none of these Humans notice? It was unsettling to watch vampires surrounded by Humans at such ease... _

_The one__named Edward didn't look at me again._

So there I was, a goddess disguised as a mortal in what was probably the only school in the country to have vampires as students. Was is coincidence, or was it the work of the fates? Only time would tell.

**Chapter 1! Reviews would be appreciated, because I would like to know how you guys like the re-write and the story in general. If you don't like it, please tell me why because, unlike Edward, I am no mind-reader. Thank you! **

**P.s, I reply to ALL reviews. ALL. With the anonymous ones, I post a reply in the next chapter. Below are the replies to the anonymous reviews from the original version.**

**avidreader2: **I am aware of the manner of Athena's birth – the matter is going to be fully explained in a later chapter. It was an honest mistake that I typed Isabelle as one of the twelve main gods, when including her made the total thirteen. I have changed the description and mentions of the number of gods in the fic. I have made Bella a different character because, frankly, I thought she was a Mary Sue originally, as she had no acknowledged flaws and was an exception to most of the 'rules' of the twilight universe. So I changed her character. Thank you for reviewing.

**Annabell:** Yes I do know how Athena was born and that matter will be mentioned in a later chapter. It was an honest mistake to include Isabelle in the twelve when I should have written thirteen. And no, I did not know about Lysis as I didn't find her in any of my research. However, I am including her as the mentee and Lieutenant to Isabelle. Thank you for telling me she existed. As for your last point, this is fanfiction and on top of that I wrote in the description that it would be AU. I have never written that this would be an accurate representation of Greek Mythology. Therefore, I am perfectly within my rights to make a new goddess. Thank you for reviewing though – I appreciate constructive criticism.

**mikee: **I'll update as soon as I can! Thank you for reviewing!

**ukie**: Thank you very much, for the compliment and for the review!

**max**: Thank you! Don't worry, it won't be an Edward/Bella. Thank you for your review!

**Tornbyk.j: **Thank you for the review and compliment!

**storylover**: I'll update as soon as I can. Thank you for the review!

**BOOKS4FUN**: Thank you for reviewing. Yeah, I love Angela too; she should have had a larger part in the books. But she will make a reappearance, in thic fic or the next.

**Mel**: You'll find out soon enough! Thank you for reviewing!

**bookreader 227**: Thank you very much!

**Percabeth11-235**: I'll post as often as I can. Exams are coming up but I'll still try my hardest! Thank you for your review!

**arigirl: **Thank you very much, for the review and the names and the compliment! I'm very happy you think that way!

**anon**: Thank you for the names! I love Marmaduke though I've never actually met someone called that! Very unique!

**CandyCake: **Thank you for the names and the review! I like Greek names too – lots of my favourites seem to be Greek. I'm also glad you're not a stalker Candy!

**Alice: **Thank you very much for the names and review!

**Alexandra:** Thankyou for the names and review! Xochilt is in!

**ChasingLove: **Thank you for the review and the names!

**personwhoforgetstheirpassword: **Thank you for the review and names! Have you remembered your password?

**There you go – all the anonymous reviews! If I haven't replied to any reviews, anonymous or otherwise, I am really sorry. Message me again and I will reply!**


	3. Chapter 2 Admissions for one

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight saga or Percy Jackson and the Olympians/The Heroes of Olympus. They belong to Stephanie Meyer and Rick Riordan respectively. I only put claim on my plotline and OCs.**

**Chapter 2: Admissions... for one. **

**March 1994**

"Honestly, I'm not hungry," I insisted, looking up to analyse his face. We were in Port Angeles, Edward having just 'saved' me from a serial rapist. I had sent Angela and Jessica home and now had an extended period of time alone with Edward Cullen. I wanted answers, and the least amount human witnesses possible for our discussion would be preferable.

I had received some answers in my recent trip to the reservation on the coast; Jacob Black had proved a mine of information, thinking the tribal legends as scary stories. He was a good looking boy – I would have been interested in starting up a short relationship to alleviate the boredom of my remaining time here but he was a little too young.

He had described vampires as enemies of the tribe, who somehow had the ability to shape shift. I would have to look into that later. The particular coven I had noticed in Forks where abstaining from mortal blood by draining animals instead. I had instantly become curious – how had the gods never known this alternate route for vampires?

The tribe had made a treaty with the vampires, promising to hide their presence in exchange for no Cullen vampire to ever be on tribal lands. Jacob Black's own great-grandfather had created the treaty. Ironic, that it would be a descendant of Ephraim who broke the treaty.

But the answers I had gotten had only spurned more questions. Why would the vampires want to abstain? And more importantly, were they still a risk to the people of Forks?

"Humour me." His expression held a hint of anticipation. Did he know I knew? Possible, what with my wary attitude around him lately.

He walked to the door of the restaurant and held it open. A gentleman. He would have had to have lived for over half a decade or more: it was rare to meet a teenager from this century with proper manners. Obviously, there would be no further discussion outside. He wanted privacy too.

The restaurant wasn't crowded — it was the off-season in Port Angeles. The host was a woman, with an almost predatory gleam in her eyes as she took in Edward Cullen. She welcomed him more warmly than necessary. She was taller than my human form by several inches, with unnaturally blonde hair. I played up my part as a jealous girlfriend with a glare in her direction.

"A table for two?" His voice was alluring, whether he was aiming for that or not.

I saw her eyes flicker to me and then away, satisfied by my obvious ordinariness, and by the cautious, no-contact space Edward kept between us. Her thoughts were painted clearly on her face; '_She stands no chance. He's mine!'_

She led us to a table big enough for four in the centre of the most crowded area of the dining floor, obviously not wanting a private moment between us. I didn't sit. Neither did Edward. There were too many witnesses.

"Perhaps something more private?" he insisted quietly to the host. He handed her a tip as persuasion. I saw a glimpse of the twenty dollar sign.

"Sure." Her astonishment was clear on her face and in her tone. Tips in that manner were customs from previous decades, not the 1990's.

She turned and led us around a partition to a small ring of booths — all of them empty. "How's this?"

"Perfect." He flashed a smile, the venom on his teeth gleaming. Her breathing notched and her eyes dilated. He'd 'dazzled' her.

"Um" — she shook her head, blinking — "your server will be right out." She walked away unsteadily.

"You really shouldn't do that to people," I criticized. "It's hardly fair." You are far too dangerous to flirt with mortals, I mentally added.

"Do what?" Could he really be unaware of the attention he got from women?

"Dazzle them like that — she's probably hyperventilating in the kitchen right now." She was, in fact, hyperventilating. My demi-god ears still had the strength to pick up her fast breathing as she wobbled her way into the kitchens, only a dozen or so meters away.

He seemed confused. Clueless.

"Oh, come on," I said. "You _have _to know the effect you have on people."

He tilted his head to one side, and his golden eyes were curious. And not thirsty. Good.

"I dazzle people?"

"You haven't noticed? Do you think everybody gets their way so easily?" Come _on!_

He ignored my questions. "Do I dazzle _you?_"

"Frequently," I lied.

And then our server arrived, her face expectant. The hostess had definitely dished behind the scenes, and this new girl didn't look disappointed. She flipped a strand of short black hair behind one ear and smiled with unnecessary warmth at Cullen.

"Hello. My name is Amber, and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" She didn't look away from him.

He looked at me. Polite, as always.

"I'll have a Coke."

"Two Cokes," he said.

"I'll be right back with that," she assured him with another unnecessary smile, but he didn't catch it. His eyes were on my face.

"What?" I asked when she left. His constant staring was beginning to unsettle me.

His eyes stayed fixed on my face. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Annoyed, maybe, and impatient for answers.

"You don't feel dizzy, sick, cold…?" Oh. He thought I was in shock.

"Should I?"

He chuckled bewilderedly at my impatient tone.

"Well, I'm actually waiting for you to go into shock." His face twisted up into a confused smile.

"I don't think that will happen," I said after a slight pause. "I've always been very good at repressing unpleasant things." Vampires, for example.

"Just the same, I'll feel better when you have some sugar and food in you."

Right on cue, the waitress appeared with our drinks and a basket of breadsticks. She stood with her back to me as she placed them on the table.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked Edward Cullen.

"Bella?" he asked. She turned unwillingly toward me.

I picked the first thing I saw on the menu. "I'll have the mushroom ravioli."

"And you?" She turned back to him with clearly what she saw as an alluring smile.

"Nothing for me," he said. Of course not. He had never been any good at seeming human.

"Let me know if you change your mind." The coy smile was still in place, but he wasn't looking at her, and she left dissatisfied. I wondered if he noticed the double meaning in her words.

"Drink," he ordered.

I sipped at my soda obediently, and then drank more deeply, pretending to be in little bit of shock.

As I finished, he pushed his glass toward me.

"Thanks," I muttered. The cold from the icy soda was radiating through my chest, and I shivered. This was unnatural – Goddesses should never be cold. How do mortals stand it?

"Are you cold?"

"It's just the Coke," I explained, shivering again.

"Don't you have a jacket?" His voice was disapproving.

"Yes." I looked at the empty bench next to me. "Oh — I left it in Jessica's car," I realized. Humans are so high maintenance.

Edward was shrugging out of his jacket.

He was removing a light beige leather jacket now; underneath he wore an ivory turtleneck sweater. It fit him snugly, obviously aiming to emphasize his muscles.

"Thanks," I said again, sliding my arms into his jacket. It was as cold as ice from the contact with his body. It carried the sweet scent unique to vampires. The sleeves were much too long; I shoved them back so I could free my hands.

"That colour blue looks lovely with your skin," he said, watching me.

I looked down, suddenly homesick. Hermes liked me to wear blue.

He pushed the bread basket toward me.

"Really, I'm not going into shock," I protested, pushing back my homesickness.

"You should be — a _normal _person would be." And I'm not normal.

"You don't even look shaken." He was unsettled. He stared into my eyes, and I saw how light his eyes were, lighter than I'd ever seen them, golden butterscotch. He must have hunted very recently.

"I feel very safe with you," I lied.

That displeased him; his alabaster brow furrowed. He shook his head, frowning. At least he realised how dangerous it was to become close to a mortal. I, however, am not mortal, so he will have a little trouble getting rid of me so soon.

"This is more complicated than I'd planned," he murmured to himself.

I picked up a breadstick and began nibbling on the end, measuring his expression. Now was the time for questions.

"Usually you're in a better mood when your eyes are so light," I commented, wondering what his reaction would be like.

He stared at me, stunned, his mouth hanging open slightly. "What?"

"You're always crabbier when your eyes are black — I expect it then," I went on. "I have a theory about that."

His eyes narrowed. "More theories?" Lots more, Cullen. Just you wait.

"Mm-hm." I chewed on a small bite of the bread, trying to look indifferent and probably failing spectacularly.

"I hope you were more creative this time… or are you still stealing from comic books?"

His faint smile was mocking; his eyes were still tight. He knew I knew...something.

"Well, no, I didn't get it from a comic book, but I didn't come up with it on my own, either," I said.

"And?" he prompted.

But then the waitress strode around the partition with my food. We'd been leaning towards each other across the table, and we both straightened as she approached. She set the dish in front of me, giving me what she obviously thought was a death glare, before turning back to Edward Cullen.

"Did you change your mind?" she asked. "Isn't there anything I can get you?" I heard the double meaning in her words and by the look on his face, so did he.

"No, thank you, but some more soda would be nice." He gestured with a long white hand to the empty cups in front of me. Did she hear the double meaning in _his_ words?

"Sure." She said, disappointed. Guess she did. She removed the empty glasses and walked away.

"You were saying?" he asked.

"I'll tell you about it in the car." Too many witnesses in here. "If…" I paused.

"There are conditions?" He raised one eyebrow.

"I do have a few questions, of course." Many, many questions.

"Of course." He sounded resigned.

The waitress was back with two more Cokes. She sat them down without a word this time, and left again. I took a sip.

"Well, go ahead," he pushed, his voice still hard.

I started with a lighter question, saving the really tough one for when we're on the road. He should have no problem answering that one. Or so I thought.

"Why are you in Port Angeles?"

He looked down, folding his large hands together slowly on the table. His eyes flickered up at me from under his lashes, the hint of a smirk on his face.

"Next."

"But that's the easiest one," I objected.

"Next," he repeated.

I looked down, frustrated. I unrolled my silverware, picked up my fork, and carefully speared some ravioli. I put it in my mouth slowly, still looking down, chewing while I thought. The mushrooms were good. I swallowed and took another sip of Coke before I looked up. What questions would he answer?

"Okay, then." I glared at him, and continued slowly. "Let's say, hypothetically of course, that… someone… could know what people are thinking, read minds, you know — with a few exceptions." Time to see if one of my little theories was true.

"Just _one _exception," he corrected, "hypothetically." Wow. It was true. Over the past month or so, I had come to the conclusion that Edward Cullen was more than just a perceptive reader of expressions. But to actually have my suspicions confirmed... What confuses me is that I have not been guarding my thoughts – anyone listening would know my identity instantly. However, Cullen hasn't acted as if he knows my secret; like he thinks I am an ordinary girl. So that means he cannot read my mind. It must be because of my godly mind – he just said I was the only exception and it is highly unlikely he has ever met a god before. I would have remembered if a bronze haired vampire had been mentioned in any of the council meetings. For my mental muteness, I am extremely grateful.

"All right, with one exception, then."

"How does that work? What are the limitations? How would… that someone… find someone else at exactly the right time? How would he know she was in trouble?" How had he been able to find me? The minds of those vile men, I'll assume, but how did he locate four minds out of a town's worth of thoughts?

"Hypothetically?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Well, if… that someone…"

"Let's call him 'Joe,'" I suggested. My daughter Allison was dating a son of Ares called Joe.

He smiled wryly. "Joe, then. If Joe had been paying attention, the timing wouldn't have needed to be quite so exact." He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Only _you _could get into trouble in a town this small. You would have devastated their crime rate statistics for a decade, you know." I've done worse than that, Cullen, much worse.

"We were speaking of a hypothetical case," I reminded him, though I didn't really mind. I could almost see the answers I wanted and I would play nice until I got them.

He laughed at me, his eyes warm.

"Yes, we were," he agreed. "Shall we call you 'Jane'?"

"How did you know?" I asked. Was I that easy to read? Though, looking back, I might have been a bit obvious with my questions.

He seemed to be wavering, torn by some internal dilemma. His eyes locked with mine, and I knew he was making the decision right then whether or not to simply tell me the truth. _Truth, truth truth!_ I chanted internally.

"You can trust me, you know," I murmured.

I reached forward to touch his folded hands. Physical contact comforted people usually, but he slid his hand away minutely, and I pulled my hand back.

"I don't know if I have a choice anymore." His voice was almost a whisper. "I was wrong — you're much more observant than I gave you credit for."

"I thought you were always right." Though he has nothing on my sister.

"I used to be." He shook his head again. "I was wrong about you on one other thing, as well. You're not a magnet for accidents — that's not a broad enough classification. You are a magnet for _trouble_. If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you."

"And you put yourself into that category?" How could a vampire not be dangerous?

His face turned cold. "Unequivocally."

I stretched my hand across the table again — ignoring him when he pulled back slightly once more — to touch the back of his hand shyly with my fingertips. His skin was cold and hard, like a stone.

"Thank you. That's twice now." Though those vile men would not have been able to hurt me, I might have had trouble with a van. I would have certainly had some memories to wipe if I moved faster than humanly possible.

His face softened. "Let's not try for three, agreed?"

I nodded. He moved his hand out from under mine, placing both of his under the table. But he leaned toward me.

"I followed you to Port Angeles," he admitted, speaking in a rush.

I raised an eyebrow. Stalker.

"I've never tried to keep a specific person alive before, and it's much more troublesome than I would have believed. But that's probably just because it's you. Ordinary people seem to make it through the day without so many catastrophes." He paused.

"Did you ever think that maybe my number was up the first time, with the van, and that you've been interfering with fate?" I speculated.

"That wasn't the first time," he said, and his voice was hard to hear. I stared at him in amazement, but he was looking down. "Your number was up the first time I met you."

I felt a spasm of fear at his words, at the abrupt memory of his violent black glare that first day… So he had been on the brink of murder.

"You remember?" he asked, his angel's face grave.

"Yes." I was calm.

"And yet here you sit." There was a trace of disbelief in his voice; he raised one eyebrow.

"Yes, here I sit… because of you." I paused. "Because somehow you knew how to find me today…?"I prompted.

He pressed his lips together, staring at me through narrowed eyes, deciding again. His eyes flashed down to my full plate, and then back to me.

"You eat, I'll talk," he bargained.

I quickly scooped up more ravioli and popped it in my mouth. Those mushrooms really were excellently cooked.

"It's harder than it should be — keeping track of you. Usually I can find someone very easily, once I've heard their mind before." He looked at me anxiously, but I didn't let out any outward reaction. I was finally getting answers.

I stabbed another mushroom and tossed it in.

"I was keeping tabs on Jessica, not carefully — like I said, only you could find trouble in Port Angeles — and at first I didn't notice when you took off on your own. Then, when I realized that you weren't with her anymore, I went looking for you at the bookstore I saw in her head. I could tell that you hadn't gone in, and that you'd gone south… and I knew you would have to turn around soon. So I was just waiting for you, randomly searching through the thoughts of people on the street — to see if anyone had noticed you so I would know where you were. I had no reason to be worried… but I was strangely anxious…" He was lost in thought, staring past me, seeing things I couldn't imagine.

"I started to drive in circles, still… listening. The sun was finally setting, and I was about to get out and follow you on foot. And then —" He stopped, clenching his teeth together in sudden fury. He made an effort to calm himself.

"Then what?" I whispered. He continued to stare over my head. His eyes had darkened dramatically.

"I heard what they were thinking," he growled, his upper lip curling slightly back over his teeth. "I saw your face in his mind." He suddenly leaned forward, one elbow appearing on the table, his hand covering his eyes. The movement was so swift it startled me.

"It was very… hard — you can't imagine how hard — for me to simply take you away, and leave them… alive." His voice was muffled by his arm. "I could have let you go with Jessica and Angela, but I was afraid if you left me alone, I would go looking for them," he admitted in a whisper.

There was silence for a long moment in the booth. He still had his face in his hand, and he was as still as if he'd been carved from the stone his skin resembled. I was quiet, waiting. I couldn't push him now. I was so close now.

Finally he looked up, his eyes seeking mine, full of his own questions.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

"I'm ready to leave," I qualified, overly grateful that we had the hour-long ride home together.

The waitress appeared as soon as I moved. She'd been watching.

"How are we doing?" she asked Edward.

"We're ready for the check, thank you." His voice was quiet, rougher, still reflecting the strain of our conversation. It confused her._ Where did Mr Smooth go?_

He looked up, waiting.

"S-sure," she stuttered. "Here you go." She pulled a small leather folder from the front pocket of her black apron and handed it to him.

There was a bill in his hand already. He slipped it into the folder and handed it right back to her.

"No change." He smiled. Then he stood up, and I rose to my feet.

She smiled invitingly at him again. "You have a nice evening."

He didn't look away from me as he thanked her.

He walked close beside me to the door, still careful not to touch me. I remembered what Jessica had said about her relationship with Mike, how they were almost to the first-kiss stage. I wondered if Cullen would want to kiss me.

He opened the passenger door, holding it for me as I stepped in, shutting it softly behind me. I watched him walk around the front of the car. Very gentlemanly.

Once inside the car, he started the engine and turned the heater on high. It had gotten very cold, and I guessed the good weather was at an end. I was warm in his jacket, though; my body had warmed it like Edward Cullen's could never do.

Edward pulled out through the traffic, apparently without a glance, flipping around to head toward the freeway.

"Now," he said significantly, "it's your turn."

**Thank you to every one of you lovely people who've reviewed, favourited, or alerted!**

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	4. Chapter 3: Truth At Last

**This is a rewrite of my rewrite of chapter three. It's a long story, but basically I made another version of chapter three without realising I had already posted one. So I've merged the two rewrites because I didn't want to have all my work wasted.**

Truth

"Can I ask just one more?" I asked as Cullen accelerated down the street, blatantly ignoring the road signs with '30 mph' and 'Careless Driving Ends Lives'. If we had both been mortals I would have been quite annoyed at his lack of concern for our lives. As it were, I was very aware of the fragility of my human form and how painful it would be if this over-shined Volvo collided with the rather solid buildings on either side of the road.

He sighed, "One." His lips pressed together into a cautious line.

"Well… you said you knew I hadn't gone into the bookstore, and that I had gone south. I was just wondering how you knew that." I was now determined to find out everything about Vampires. Clearly, we gods hadn't watched as closely as we should have been; there was too much we didn't know. As long as I was stuck here, I might as well be useful to the council and collect as much information on vampires as possible.

He looked away, deliberating.

"I thought we were past all the evasiveness," I grumbled. He almost smiled.

"Fine, then. I followed your scent." He avoided looking at my face, staring at the road instead. Scent? It seemed a Vampire's senses were much more developed than the gods had believed. Then again, Zeus had never allowed us to talk directly to a vampire. We could not pretend to be mortal and say to the vampire that we just _knew_ they were not human, as they would demand an explanation, and Zeus believed it would be best if vampires never learnt of the gods' existence. For good reason. A vampire may not be able to kill a god, but they could injure one, and easily kill a demi-god. Though this secrecy may have prevented a war, but we had a lack of information as a result.

I refocused. I wasn't going to be distracted, or ready to let him be finished, now that he was finally explaining things.

"And then you didn't answer one of my first questions…" I asked.

He looked at me with disapproval, wanting to get past this line of preliminary questions. "Which one?"

"How does it work — the mind-reading thing? Can you read anybody's mind, anywhere? How do you do it? Can the rest of your family…?"I needed the clarification on this matter.

"That's more than one," he pointed out. I simply intertwined my fingers and pouted, waiting. Hermes can never hold for long against this face and it turns out Cullen can't either.

"No, it's just me. And I can't hear anyone, anywhere. I have to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's… 'voice' is, the farther away I can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles." He paused thoughtfully. "It's a little like being in a huge hall filled with people, everyone talking at once. It's just a hum — a buzzing of voices in the background. Until I focus on one voice, and then what they're thinking is clear."

Wow. That was quite a powerful talent. Do all vampires have such gifts, or is Edward Cullen a rarity among vampires? He mentioned that his family cannot read minds, yet he did not deny them having gifts of their own. I wonder why he has this talent: another question to add to my seemingly never ending list.

"Most of the time I tune it all out — it can be very distracting. And then it's easier to seem normal" — he frowned as he said the word — "when I'm not accidentally answering someone's thoughts rather than their words."

Answering someone's thoughts could result in some rather awkward and very amusing situations – I would enjoy watching him talk his way out of that one.

"Why do you think you can't hear me?" I asked curiously. What theories would he have developed, I wonder?

He looked at me, his eyes puzzled.

"I don't know," he murmured. "The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM." He grinned at me, suddenly amused.

His theory was uncannily accurate – my mind _was_ different from his, in ways he would never imagine.

"My mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak?" There was my typical teenage response. Over the past few months, pretending to be a teenager has become easier, to the point where I can produce a teenage response with little difficulty. I usually don't have to even think about what I am saying now.

"I hear voices in my mind and you're worried that you're the freak," Cullen laughed. "Don't worry, it's just a theory…" His face tightened. "Which brings us back to you."

I sighed, wondering what this conversation would develop into.

"Aren't we past all the evasions now?" he reminded me softly, misreading my wary pause to one of unwillingness to answer.

I looked away from his face for the first time, trying to find words. I happened to notice the speedometer, and my human heart raced.

"Holy crow!" I shouted. "Slow down!" Was he _trying_ to kill me? The car was speeding through the night at one hundred miles an hour – a pace inadvisable on a straight road, let alone one that twisted and turned such as this one, with trees creating one deadly barrier on my left side and Lake Crescent another on my right.

"What's wrong?" He was startled, but the car didn't decelerate.

"You're going a hundred miles an hour!" I was still shouting, panicked.

I shot a glance out the window, my demigod eyes widening at the almost solid wall of bark presented by the trees. Becoming a bloody stain on a tree is _not_ in the top ten of my to-do-list. In fact, it is on my list of Things-I-Would-Rather-Spend-Quality-Time-With-Hera-Than-Do list.

"Relax, Bella." He rolled his eyes, still not slowing. Damn vampire!

"Are you trying to kill us?" I demanded. I had begun to think that this coven meant no harm to mortals – It seems I was wrong on that account.

"We're not going to crash." Arrogant vampire!

I tried, and failed to modulate my voice. "Why are you in such a hurry?" Did he want to have this conversation or not?

"I always drive like this." He turned to smile crookedly at me.

What. A. Nutter.

"Keep your eyes on the road!"

"I've never been in an accident, Bella — I've never even gotten a ticket." He grinned and tapped his forehead. "Built-in radar detector."

"Very funny." I fumed. "Charlie's a cop, remember? I was raised to abide by traffic laws. Besides, if you turn us into a Volvo pretzel around a tree trunk, you can probably just walk away." Creating lies in a split second was another thing that got easier over time.

"Probably," he agreed with a short, hard laugh. "But you can't." He sighed, and I watched with relief as the needle gradually drifted toward eighty. "Happy?"

"No." He gave me an incredulous look.

"I hate driving slow," he muttered.

"This is _slow_?" What speeds were vampires used to travelling at if this was slow?

"Enough commentary on my driving," he snapped. "I'm still waiting for your latest theory."

I bit my lip. He looked down at me, his golden eyes unexpectedly gentle.

"I won't laugh," he promised.

"I'm more afraid that you'll be angry with me." And tear the car apart in the process.

"Is it that bad?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

He waited. I was looking down at my hands, so I couldn't see his expression.

"Go ahead." He was forcing his voice to be calm.

"I don't know how to start," I admitted. I had been anticipating this moment for so long, yet I had not thought how to open the conversation. Planning was my sister's strong point, not mine. I had to negotiate this conversation carefully – finding out the information without revealing too much of my own secrets.

"Why don't you start at the beginning… you said you didn't come up with this on your own."

"No." Another lie.

"What got you started — a book? A movie?" he probed. As if. Hollywood's vision of vampires was the product of the lies spread by the Italian Volturi, one of their only actions we gods approved of.

"No — it was Saturday, at the beach." I glanced up at his face. He looked puzzled. Had the Cullens forgotten their treaty with the Quileute's?

"I ran into an old family friend —Jacob Black," I continued. "His dad and Charlie have been friends since they were kids."

He still looked confused.

"His dad is one of the Quileute elders." I watched him carefully. His confused expression froze in place. He had realised. The steering wheel let out a protesting squeak, out of the normal range of human hearing, as Cullen's hands tightened convulsively upon it.

"We went for a walk —" I edited all my flirting out of the story. This conversation is going to be long enough without unnecessary details "— and he was telling me some old legends — trying to scare me, I think. He told me one…" I hesitated. The moment had come.

"Go on," he said, impatiently.

"About vampires." I whispered. The tension in the car was thick enough to cut with a knife. I have never been one for taunt situations. I couldn't look at his face, but I saw his knuckles tighten again on the wheel.

"And you immediately thought of me?" His voice was still kept calm, but I was beginning to see cracks in the mask.

"No. He mentioned your family."

He was silent, staring at the road.

I was worried suddenly about Jacob Black. He was just a child. He had broken the treaty that he didn't believe in, which left the Cullens free to slaughter the innocent tribe on the coast. They are mortals, just ants in comparison to myself, but is it unreasonable to feel pity for the small ones, with lives so brief? They were like children, even their so-called elders, and I did not like having the blood of children on my hands.

"He just thought it was a silly superstition; he doesn't believe the rumours to be true; none of the younger generation do," I added quickly. "He didn't expect me to think anything of it. He thought he was telling me a scary story. It was my fault. I forced him to tell me."

"Why?" He sounded startled at my outburst.

"Lauren said something about you, wanting to know why I hadn't invited you – Mike told her you drove me home after I fainted in Biology. She was trying to provoke me, I think. An an older boy from the tribe said your family didn't come to the reservation, only it sounded like there was something more he wasn't saying. So I got Jacob alone and I tricked it out of him," I admitted, hanging my head so he couldn't see the guilt I was trying to hide in my eyes. The lives of all those living on the reservation depended on my persuasive abilities.

He startled me by laughing. Did that mean he was amused by my performance? That he would never have considered the murder? I had to look.

I glanced up at him. He was laughing, but his eyes were fierce, staring ahead. Those eyes did nothing to reassure me.

"Tricked him how?" he asked.

"I tried to flirt — it worked better than I thought it would." Fake disbelief coloured my words. I, having lived for thousands of years, am a very proficient flirt.

"I'd like to have seen that." He chuckled darkly. "And you accused me of dazzling people — poor Jacob Black."

I looked out my window into the night. I had been concentrating so hard on wheedling the information out of Jacob Black that I hadn't considered the consequence of my flirting. Poor Jacob Black indeed! Luckily for mortals, their hearts where shallow: he could easily move on – I would never be more than an unattainable crush on an older girl.

"What did you do then?" he asked after a minute of silence. I wondered what he had been thinking.

"I did some research on the Internet."

"And did that convince you?" His voice was doubtful, but his hands were still clamped hard onto the steering wheel. I could almost hear his thoughts at that moment: _What if she found something!_

"No. Nothing fit. Most of it was kind of silly. And then…" I stopped. Here was the moment to throw myself fully into the role of a young girl in 'love'. It should be easy – I have had many lovers in the past, many experiences of fake emotion.

"What?" He was impatient.

"I decided it didn't matter," I whispered.

"It didn't matter?" His tone made me look up — I had finally broken through his carefully composed mask. His face was incredulous, with just a hint of the anger I'd feared.

"No," I said, putting on my softest face tone and face. "It doesn't matter to me what you are."

A hard, mocking edge entered his voice. "You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human!"

"No."

He was silent, staring straight ahead again. His face was cold. The steering wheel began to squeak again.

"You're angry," I sighed dramatically. "I shouldn't have said anything." I was putting it on a bit thick here - painting the portrait of a love that should never have happened with my words.

"No," he said, but his tone was as hard as his face. "I'd rather know what you're thinking — even if what you're thinking is insane."

Insanity is a badge I wear with pride, my dear, I almost replied. That was my knee jerk reaction whenever my frazzled twin sister questioned my sanity.

"So I'm wrong again?" I challenged. Would he deny it now that he had already admitted to not being human?

"That's not what I was referring to. 'It doesn't matter'!" he quoted, gritting his teeth together. The steering wheel squeaked.

"I'm right?" I gasped, like a normal human should, though inside I was rejoicing. He was opening up to me!

"Does it matter?"

"Not really." I paused. "But I am curious." My voice was composed, not betraying my pounding excitement.

He was suddenly resigned. Good. "What are you curious about?"

Everything. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answered promptly. Knee jerk response, I could tell.

"And how long have you been seventeen?"

His lips twitched as he stared at the road, as did mine. This conversation, when taken out of context, would be hilarious. "A while," he admitted at last.

"Okay." I smiled, pleased that he was still being honest with me. He stared down at me with watchful eyes, much as he had before, when he was worried I would go into shock. I smiled wider to see his response, and he frowned.

"Don't laugh — but how can you come out during the daytime?" I might as well get the typical human questions out of the way.

He laughed anyway. "Myth."

"Burned by the sun?"

"Myth." Interesting. That meant they had ulterior motives for staying out of the sun

"Sleeping in coffins?"

"Myth." He hesitated for a moment, and a peculiar tone entered his voice. "I can't sleep."

It took me a moment to absorb that. "At all?" What did they do in the midnight hours? Surely one cannot have sex for ten hours straight. Hermes and I had tried, of course, but even gods tire.

"Never," he said, his voice nearly inaudible. He turned to look at me with a wistful expression. He truly wished to sleep, I could tell. The golden eyes held mine, and I stared at him until he looked away.

"You haven't asked me the most important question yet." His voice was hard now, a sudden change, and when he looked at me again his eyes were cold.

I blinked. "Which one is that?"

"You aren't concerned about my diet?" he asked sarcastically.

"Oh," I murmured, "that." I had temporarily forgotten the matter of what exactly his evening meal consisted of. Jacob Black had mentioned animal blood, but I wanted to be completely sure before reporting that detail back to the council.

"Yes, that." His voice was bleak. "Don't you want to know if I drink blood?"

"Well, Jacob said something about that."

"What did Jacob say?" he asked flatly.

"He said you didn't hunt people. He said your family wasn't supposed to be dangerous because you only hunted animals."

"He said we weren't dangerous?" His voice was deeply sceptical.

"Not exactly. He said you weren't supposed to be dangerous, because of the animal thing. But the Quileute's still didn't want you on their land, just in case."

He looked forward, but I couldn't tell if he was watching the road or not.

"So was he right? About not hunting people?" I tried to keep my voice as even as possible, but it was almost jumping with emotion.

"The Quileutes have a long memory," he whispered.

I took it as a confirmation. So it was possible. This confession opened a whole range of ideas. We could have our own backup force of vampires, trained into obedience, to help the demi-gods when the dark forces made their inevitable return. Ares would love that idea, though Athena and Zeus would have objections. The power given by having a vampire army would win Zeus over, I would wager though.

"Don't let that make you complacent, though," he warned me. "They're right to keep their distance from us. We are still dangerous." Understandable. I had seen what was left after a vampire had feasted and it was not a pretty sight. Yet I sensed an opening for more information.

"I don't understand."

"We try," he explained slowly. "We're usually very good at what we do. Sometimes we make mistakes. Me, for example, allowing myself to be alone with you."

Not exactly the information I had wanted: a summary of the weapons at a vampire's disposal would have been more welcome, but there was time for me to gather that information at a later date.

"This is a mistake?" I implanted sadness in my voice.

"A very dangerous one," he murmured.

We were both silent then. I watched the headlights twist with the curves of the road.

I was aware of the time slipping away so quickly, like the black road beneath us, and I was admittedly afraid that I would never have another chance to be with him like this again — openly, the walls between us gone for once; that this was my last chance, and he would find some way to negotiate himself out of further discussion. His words hinted at an end, and I recoiled from the idea. I couldn't waste one minute I had with him.

"Tell me more," I asked desperately, needing to know more information.

He looked at me quickly, startled by the change in my tone. "What more do you want to know?"

"Tell me why you hunt animals instead of people," I suggested. This, I needed to know, at least.

"I don't want to be a monster." His voice was very low. Interesting. So these vampires had retained some humanity after all; a conscience I never knew could exist. Were all vampires capable of this, I wondered, or was it specific circumstances that promoted this odd development? I heard something in his voice, something that hinted at a struggle to fight away the monster.

"But animals aren't enough?"

He paused. "I can't be sure, of course, but I'd compare it to living on tofu and soy milk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke. It doesn't completely satiate the hunger — or rather thirst. But it keeps us strong enough to resist." His tone turned ominous. "Most of the time. Sometimes it's more difficult than others."

"Is it very difficult for you now?" I asked, certain of the answer.

He sighed. "Yes."

"But you're not hungry now," I said confidently — stating, not asking.

"Why do you think that?"

"Your eyes. I told you I had a theory. I've noticed that people — men in particular — are crabbier when they're hungry." Hermes and my father were prime examples, though my father generally lived in a crabby mood which only worsened when he was hungry.

He chuckled. "You are observant, aren't you?"

"Were you hunting this weekend, with Emmett?" I asked when the echo of his laughter faded to silence.

"Yes." He paused for a second, as if deciding whether or not to say something.

"I didn't want to leave, but it was necessary. It's a bit easier to be around you when I'm not thirsty."

"Why didn't you want to leave?" I suddenly felt as though the floor had been whipped away. I had attracted some odd ones in my time, but never a vampire. I almost smiled. This would make my job much easier.

"It makes me… anxious… to be away from you." Not the best confession of feelings, but it definitely was one.

His eyes were gentle but intense. "I wasn't joking when I asked you to try not to fall in the ocean or get run over last Thursday. I was distracted all weekend, worrying about you. And after what happened tonight, I'm surprised that you did make it through a whole weekend unscathed." He shook his head, and then seemed to remember something. "Well, not totally unscathed."

"What?"

"Your hands," he reminded me. I looked down at my palms, at the almost-healed scrapes across the heels of my hands. I had almost forgotten about them – I wondered how he had noticed. His eyes missed very little, it seemed.

"I fell," I sighed. Clumsiness was a human trait that I rued often, especially in the presence of a Cullen: vampire grace was something I envied in this fragile body.

"That's what I thought." His lips curved up at the corners. "I suppose, being you, it could have been much worse — and that possibility tormented me the entire time I was away. It was a very long three days. I really got on Emmett's nerves." He smiled ruefully at me. I almost smiled, yet again. I think I would like Emmett. A thought occurred to me.

"Three days? Didn't you just get back today?"

"No, we got back Sunday."

"Then why weren't any of you in school?" I was frustrated, almost angry as I thought of how much I could have quizzed him about.

"Well, you asked if the sun hurt me, and it doesn't. But I can't go out in the sunlight — at least, not where anyone can see."

"Why?"

"I'll show you sometime," he promised.

"I would like that," I murmured, and then, louder -"You should have called me"

He was puzzled. Clueless boy. "But I knew you were safe."

"But I didn't know where you were. I —" I hesitated, dropping my eyes. If he didn't get the message now, he was either really thick or my acting was not a good as I had believed. I hoped it would be the former.

"What?"

"I didn't like it. Not seeing you. It makes me anxious, too." I blushed to make the words really hit home.

He was quiet. I glanced up and saw that his expression was pained.

"Ah," he groaned quietly. "This is wrong."

"What did I say?"

"Don't you see, Bella? It's one thing for me to make myself miserable, but a wholly other thing for you to be so involved." Oh. So he's a masochist. At least he realised now – my acting must have finally gotten through.

He turned his anguished eyes to the road, his words flowing almost too fast for a human to understand. "I don't want to hear that you feel that way." His voice was low but urgent. His words cut me. "It's wrong. It's not safe. I'm dangerous, Bella — please, grasp that."

This animal diet really does give vampires a sense of a conscience. He didn't want to hurt me, and I don't believe he wants to hurt anyone else. Very interesting.

"No." I tried very hard to look like I was trying not to look like a sulky child.

"I'm serious," he growled.

"So am I. I told you, it doesn't matter what you are. It's too late."

His voice whipped out, low and harsh. "Never say that."

I stared out at the road, looking hurt. We must be close now. He was driving much too fast.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, his voice still raw. I just shook my head, not sure what to say. I could feel his gaze on my face, but I kept my eyes forward.

"Are you crying?" He sounded appalled. I hadn't realized the moisture I had brought to my eyes had brimmed over. I quickly rubbed my hand across my cheek, and sure enough, traitor tears were there.

"No," I said, and made my voice cracked.

I saw him reach toward me hesitantly with his right hand, but then he stopped and placed it slowly back on the steering wheel. Cautious. I almost approved.

"I'm sorry." His voice burned with regret. I knew he wasn't just apologizing for his words.

The darkness slipped by us in silence.

"Tell me something," he asked after another minute, and I could hear him struggle to use a lighter tone.

"Yes?"

"What were you thinking tonight, just before I came around the corner? I couldn't understand your expression — you didn't look that scared, you looked like you were concentrating very hard on something."

"I was trying to remember how to incapacitate an attacker — you know, self-defence. I was going to smash his nose into his brain." I thought of the dark-haired man with a surge of hate. Filth. I have a mind to go back there and teach him what it is to be hurt by someone so much more powerful than himself, like what he does to the poor mortal girls he has preyed upon in the past.

"You were going to fight them?" This upset him. "Didn't you think about running?"

"I fall down a lot when I run," I admitted. Damn human body.

"What about screaming for help?"

"I'm not really a screamer."

He shook his head. "You were right — I'm definitely fighting fate trying to keep you alive."

You can't fight the fates, I almost replied. I sighed. We were slowing, passing into the boundaries of Forks. It had taken less than twenty minutes.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" I demanded.

"Yes — I have a paper due, too." He smiled. "I'll save you a seat at lunch."

Excellent. Another chance for my answers.

We were in front of Charlie's house. The lights were on, my truck in its place, everything utterly normal. He stopped the car, but I didn't move.

"Do you promise to be there tomorrow?"

"I promise." I considered that for a moment, then nodded. I knew better than to trust the word of a vampire, no matter how sincere he sounded, but I couldn't voice my worry.

I pulled his jacket off, catching one last whiff of the unique vampire scent.

"You can keep it — you don't have a jacket for tomorrow," he reminded me.

I handed it back to him. "I don't want to have to explain to Charlie." Now that would be an awkward conversation – Charlie having to play his role and lecture me, a goddess, and his grandmother.

"Oh, right." He grinned, then - "Bella?" he asked in a different tone — serious, but hesitant.

"Yes?" I turned back to him.

"Will you promise me something?"

"Yes," I said, instantly. It didn't matter what he asked of me: I've broken promises before and I will do so again.

"Don't go into the woods alone."

I stared at him. "Why?"

He frowned, and his eyes were tight as he stared past me out the window. "I'm not always the most dangerous thing out there. Let's leave it at that."

I shuddered slightly at the sudden bleakness in his voice, realising the subliminal message behind his words: there were vampires in the area. This was an easy promise to honour. "Whatever you say."

"I'll see you tomorrow," he sighed, and I knew he wanted me to leave now.

"Tomorrow, then." I opened the door.

"Bella?" I turned again and he was leaning toward me, his pale face just inches from mine.

"Sleep well," he said.

His breath blew in my face, the scent from his jacket more than doubly concentrated. I blinked, trying to stop my eyes watering.

I was unable to move until my sinuses had somewhat cleared themselves of the powerful scent. Then I stepped out of the car awkwardly, having to use the frame for support. I heard him chuckle.

He waited till I had stumbled to the front door, and then I heard his engine quietly rev. I turned to watch the silver car disappear around the corner. I realized it was very cold.

I reached for the key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

Charlie called from the living room. "Bella?"

"Yeah, Dad, it's me." I walked in to see him. He was watching a baseball game, a sport I have never understood.

"Greetings, my Lady" He mouthed, and then continued his father act.

"You're home early."

"Am I?" I was surprised – Cullen must have accelerated again at some point in the conversation. Speed-freak.

"It's not even eight yet," he told me. "Did you girls have fun?"

"Yeah — it was lots of fun." I remembered all the way back to the girls' night out I had planned. "They both found dresses."

"Are you all right?" A fatherly question, yet I could sense true concern behind the act. I smiled at Charlie, appreciating his kindness.

"I'm just tired. I did a lot of walking." I was tired emotionally as well. The evening had been tense, to say the least, and my mortal body wanted rest.

"Well, maybe you should go lie down."

"I'm just going to call Jessica first." I needed my jacket, plus I didn't want Jessica to spread a rumour that I had been abducted by Cullen.

"Weren't you just with her?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes — but I left my jacket in her car. I want to make sure she brings it tomorrow." I would be too cold to go without it.

"Well, give her a chance to get home first."

"Right," I agreed. I went to the kitchen and fell, exhausted, into a chair. I would have to wait a good ten minutes.

The phone rang suddenly, startling me. I yanked it off the hook.

"Hello?" I said.

"Bella?" Ah, Jessica.

"Hey, Jess, I was just going to call you."

"You made it home?" Her voice was relieved… and surprised. Typical.

"Yes. I left my jacket in your car — could you bring it to me tomorrow?"

"Sure. But tell me what happened!" she demanded. Again, typical Jessica. I pitied Cullen for having to deal with such a boring person's thoughts.

"Um, tomorrow — in Trig, okay?"

She caught on quickly. "Oh, is your dad there?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow, then. Bye!" I could hear the impatience in her voice.

"Bye, Jess."

I walked up the stairs slowly, a heavy stupor clouding my mind. I went through the motions of getting ready for bed without paying any attention to what I was doing. It wasn't until I was in the shower — the water too hot, burning my skin — that I realized I was freezing. I shuddered violently for several minutes before the steaming spray could finally relax my rigid muscles. Then I stood in the shower, too tired to move, until the hot water began to run out.

Silently longing for the unlimited supply of hot water on Olympus, I stumbled out, wrapping myself securely in a towel, trying to hold the heat from the water in so the aching shivers wouldn't return. I dressed for bed swiftly and climbed under my quilt, curling into a ball, hugging myself to keep warm. A few small shudders trembled through me. How did humans deal with the cold? I felt the tendrils of sleep claiming my mind.

As I fell gradually closer to unconsciousness, a few certainties becameevident: I was absolutely positive about three things.

First, Edward Cullen was a vampire. Through him, I could access a vault of information on the secrets of vampires, information that the gods desperately needed.

Second, there was part of him — and I didn't know how potent that part might be — that thirsted for my blood. When I looked in his eyes, I would see the internal war he went through – temptation against conscience – which may result in something I did not want to picture.

And third, for the next nine months, I would have to pretend to be unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

**I am so sorry for taking so long to update! I have one of those months. The update rate for the next few months will be rather unpredictable – I have exams so I have no idea when I'll be able to write. So bare with me folks!**

**As always, a review is always welcomed and replied to.**


	5. Chapter 4: Interrorgations

**Chapter 4**

**Wait. Stop. Now. This is VERY IMPORTANT. I have re-updated chapter three and as alerts are not sent out for reposting a chapter then you probably won't have read it. Please do – it is a much better, and much more coherent. So PLEASE read it before you read this chapter.**

**Okay, onto this chapter. I'm sorry it's late but I have had lots of exams and homework which had to have priority. Anyway, read on, and enjoy.**

Interrogation

It was hard, in the morning, convince myself that the conversation last night had taken place; that Edward Cullen had actually opened up to me and confessed his vampirism. Given his track record, it was hard to believe he had told me the truth. I had no doubts, though, that he had not been completely honest with me. That was no problem. I had nine months to break down his walls, a task which I would be bound to succeed in.

It was foggy and dark outside my window, a sight that only three months ago would have filled me with horror. Today though, I was glad. He had no reason not to be in school today. As I pulled on a thick, slightly bobble sweater, my usual disgust for the fragility of my human form was almost completely downed by the irrefutable proof that the conversation had taken place: I didn't have my jacket.

I was awake to an empty house, I realised. Charlie had left for work: his jacket was gone from the back of his chair, his gun belt absent from its hook. I was running later than I realised. I had roughly half an hour until my first lesson.

I swallowed a granola bar in three bites, chased it down with milk straight from the carton, and then hurried out the door. Hopefully the rain would hold off until I could find Jessica, as being weighed down by a soggy woollen sweater would not be a good start to my day.

It was unusually foggy; the air was almost smoky with it. My eyes could only pierce the fog so far: a human would be almost blind. It was ice cold where it clung to the exposed skin on my face and neck. I couldn't wait to get the heat going in my truck. I was a few feet down the driveway before I realized there was a car in it: a silver car.

I blinked. That was an unexpected development.

My eyes picked up a slight variation in the grey blanket of fog and then he was there in front of me, slightly damp from his walk through the oppressive blanket.

"Do you want to ride with me today?" he asked, amused by my expression as he caught me by surprise yet again. His tone was in conflict with his amusement though – I could tell he was worried I'd deny his request; that I'd be disgusted by his vampirism.

"Yes, thank you," I said, calmly. I stepped into the warm car, thankful that the heat was on. I fanned out my damp hair, hoping it would dry before school. His jacket from the night before was slung over the headrest of my seat. He closed the door closed behind me, and was beside me in an instant, starting the car. His family weren't there, and I wondered how they would travel to school. Could they turn into bats?

"I brought the jacket for you. I didn't want you to get sick or something." His voice was guarded. I noticed that he wore no jacket himself, just a light gray knit V-neck shirt with long sleeves. It fit well, clinging to his chest in a way that wasn't sexual but wasn't chaste either.

"I'm not quite that delicate," I said, but I pulled the jacket onto my lap, pushing my arms through the too-long sleeves; it was cold even with my thick sweater

"Aren't you?" he contradicted in a voice so low I was sure if he meant for me not to hear.

We drove through the fog-shrouded streets, far too fast, in awkward silence, each wanting the other to start a conversation.

He turned to smirk at me. "What, no twenty questions today?"

"Do my questions bother you?" I asked. I had no intention of releasing his inner beast with probing questions.

"Not as much as your reactions do." He tried to look like he was joking, but I saw his eyes were narrowed.

"Do I react badly?"

"No, that's the problem. You take everything so coolly — it's unnatural. It makes me wonder what you're really thinking."

"I always tell you what I'm really thinking." Or, at least, what I wasn't him to think I'm thinking.

"You edit," he accused.

"Not very much." I barely noticed the lies pouring out of my lips. Gods lie often: to each other, to our children, to our followers.

"Enough to drive me insane."

"You don't want to hear it," I mumbled, almost whispered, letting pain slice through my tone: a reminder for him that I 'liked' him. He didn't respond.

His face was blank as we drove into the school parking lot. The sight of families dropping off their children reminded me of the absence of his own.

"Where's the rest of your family?" I asked.

"They took Rosalie's car." He shrugged as he parked next to a glossy red convertible with the top up. "Ostentatious, isn't it?"

"Wow," I breathed, recognising the BMW M3 – it was one of Apollo's favourite models for his sun chariot. "If she has that, why does she ride with you?" I would choose _that _over a Volvo any day.

"Like I said, it's ostentatious. We try to blend in."

"You don't succeed." I laughed and shook my head as we got out of the car. The Cullen Clan were as far from blended in as possible.

He met me at the front of the car, staying very close to my side as we walked onto campus. I wanted to close that little distance, to reach out and touch him, to bring our relationship closer. I was acting quickly, I knew, but I had less than a year to bring myself completely into his trust.

"Why do you have cars like that at all?" I wondered aloud, "If you're looking for privacy?"

"An indulgence," he admitted with an impish smile. "We all like to drive fast."

I raised an eyebrow? Were all vampires speed freaks?

Under the shelter of the cafeteria roof's overhang, Jessica was waiting, her eyes about to bug out of their sockets. I wanted to laugh at her reaction.

"Hey, Jessica," I said when we were a few feet away. "Thanks for remembering my jacket." She handed me my jacket without speaking, astonished.

"Good morning, Jessica," Edward said politely.

"Er… hi." She shifted her wide eyes to me, trying to gather her jumbled thoughts. "I guess I'll see you in Trig." She gave me a meaningful look, and I suppressed a sigh. I had forgotten about creating a cover story. I had until lesson three to fabricate something.

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

She walked away, pausing twice to peek back over her shoulder at us.

"What are you going to tell her?" Edward murmured.

I groaned as I pulled off his jacket and handed it to him, replacing it with my own. He folded it over his arm. "I don't know. A little help, please? What does she want to know?"

He shook his head, grinning wickedly. "That's not fair on Jessica."

"No, you not sharing what you know — now that's not fair."

He deliberated for a moment as we walked. We stopped outside the door to my first class: English.

"She wants to know if we're secretly dating. And she wants to know how you feel about me," he finally said, and I saw a hint of a smile on his face.

"Yikes. What should I say?" I tried to keep my expression very innocent. People were passing us on their way to class, probably staring, but I was barely aware of them.

"Hmmm." He paused to catch a stray lock of hair that was escaping the twist on my neck and wound it back into place. His touch was ice cold."I suppose you could say yes to the first… if you don't mind — it's easier than any other explanation."

"I don't mind," I said quietly, though inside I was dancing an Irish jig. He was playing along, which meant the idea of _us_ wasn't something he detested, which meant I had a much easier time of seducing him.

"And as for her other question… well, I'll be listening to hear the answer to that one myself."

One side of his mouth pulled up into an uneven smile. He turned and walked away. I didn't bother to hide my wide smile. He wanted to know how I felt.

"I'll see you at lunch," he called over his shoulder. Three people walking in the door stopped to stare at me.

I hurried into class, sat in my usual seat, and pulled out my textbook and notebook.

"Morning, Bella," Mike said from the seat next to me. I looked up to see an odd, almost resigned look on his face. He knew he had no chance with me now. "How was Port Angeles?"

"It was…" There was no honest way to sum it up. "Great," I finished lamely. "Jessica got a really cute dress."

"Did she say anything about Monday night?" he asked, his eyes brightening. I smiled at the turn the conversation had taken. I honestly thought Mike and Jessica would do well together.

"She said she had a really good time," I reassured him.

"She did?" he said eagerly.

"Most definitely."

Mr. Mason called the class to order then, asking us to turn in our papers. I listened half-heartedly as he began the lesson; _"Now, Shakespeare uses a whole list of language techniques in Romeo's speeches... Who can name me one? Juxtaposition? Yes, a fantastic example there Angela. Can you give me an example, Mike?"_

English and then Government passed in a blur, while I wondered at what questions Jessica would ask me, and how best to answer them. I would have to use double meanings to my words, to satisfy Jessica's curiosity and to answer the questions swirling around the mind of the one who would undoubtedly be listening.

The fog had almost dissolved by the end of the second hour, but the day was still dark with low, oppressing clouds. I smiled up at the sky, knowing it was my father's way of reminding me that he was keeping track of me.

Cullen was right about Jessica, of course. When I walked into Trig she was sitting in the back row, nearly bouncing off her seat in agitation. I reluctantly went to sit by her, trying to convince myself it would be better to get it over with as soon as possible.

"Tell me everything!" she commanded before I was in the seat.

"What do you want to know?" I asked.

"What happened last night?"

"He bought me dinner, and then he drove me home." I enjoyed the look of frustration that crossed her face at my vague answer.

"How did you get home so fast?"

"He drives like a maniac. It was terrifying." I hoped he heard that.

"Was it like a date — did you tell him to meet you there?"

I hadn't thought of that. "No — I was very surprised to see him there."

Her lips puckered in disappointment at the transparent honesty in my voice. She had obviously created a mental fantasy of a secret romance between the two of us, maintain through sideways glances and the occasional, passionate, meeting.

"But he picked you up for school today?" she probed.

"Yes — that was a surprise, too. He noticed I didn't have a jacket last night," I explained.

"So are you going out again?"

"He offered to drive me to Seattle Saturday because he thinks my truck isn't up to it — does that count?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"Well, then, yes."

"Wow." She exaggerated the word into three syllables. "Edward Cullen."

"I know," I agreed. "Wow" didn't even cover it. I was seducing a vampire. I could almost hear Apollo's laughter.

"Wait!" Her hands flew up, palms toward me like she was stopping traffic. "Has he kissed you?" For a moment, I imagined kissing him. It would be nothing like kissing Hermes. It would be cold, and hard, like kissing a statue. The thought alone was unpleasant, but I would have to kiss him to fulfil my role.

I decided to put on a disappointed expression, so that if he were seeing my face through Jessica's mind, he would know that I 'wanted' him to kiss me.

"No," I mumbled. "It's not like that."

She looked disappointed.

"Do you think Saturday…?"She raised her eyebrows.

"I really doubt it." There was badly disguised discontent.

"What did you talk about?" She pushed for more information in a whisper. Class had started but Mr. Varner wasn't paying close attention and we weren't the only ones still talking. I could hear two boys having a whisper-debate about the latest band who had a '_rocking figure'_, and there was a group in the row behind us discussing which superhero was the best _'Hulk – SMASH!'_

"I don't know, Jess, lots of stuff," I whispered back. "We talked about the English essay a little." A very, very little. I think he mentioned it in passing.

"Please, Bella," she begged. "Give me some details."

"Well… "I fished my memories for a detail Aphrodite would deem important. "Okay, I've got one. You should have seen the waitress flirting with him — it was over the top. But he didn't pay any attention to her at all." Let him make what he could of that.

"That's a good sign," she nodded. "Was she pretty?"

"Very — and probably nineteen or twenty."

"Even better. He must like you."

"I think so, but it's hard to tell. He's always so cryptic," I threw in, in the hope that he would see how frustrating it can be conversing with him, and open up again.

"I don't know how you're brave enough to be alone with him," she breathed.

"Why?"

"He's so… intimidating. I wouldn't know what to say to him." She made a face, probably remembering this morning or last night, and how speechless she had been. After a moment, she shrugged, "Oh well. He is unbelievably gorgeous."

"There's a lot more to him than that."

"Really? Like what?"

"I can't explain it right… but he's even more unbelievable behind the face." The vampire who spent his life pretending to be a student, fighting off his animal urges.

"Is that possible?" She giggled.

I ignored her, trying to look like I was paying attention to Mr. Varner.

"So you like him, then?"

"Yes," I said curtly.

"I mean, do you really like him?" she urged.

"Yes," I said again, forcing a blush. I hoped that detail would register in her thoughts.

She'd had enough with the single syllable answers. "How much do you like him?"

"Too much," I whispered back. "More than he likes me. But I don't see how I can help that."

I sighed dramatically, one blush blending into the next. If he didn't get the picture now...

Then, thankfully, Mr. Varner called on Jessica for an answer, which she got right. As annoying as she could be, I had to admit that Jessica shone in anything maths related.

She didn't get a chance to start on the subject again during class, and as soon as the bell rang, I took evasive action.

"In English, Mike asked me if you said anything about Monday night," I told her.

"You're kidding! What did you say?" she gasped, completely sidetracked.

"I told him you said you had a lot of fun — he looked pleased."

"Tell me exactly what he said, and your exact answer!" I mentally congratulated myself on managing to distract her, and dug up as many details as I could remember.

We spent the rest of the walk dissecting sentence structures and most of Spanish on a minute description of Mike's facial expressions. I wouldn't have helped draw it out for as long as I did if I wasn't worried about the subject returning to me. Besides, I was fluent at Spanish – I didn't need to worry about failing the class.

And then the bell rang for lunch. I jumped up out of my seat, depositing my books in my bag. My hopeful expression must have tipped Jessica off.

"You're not sitting with us today, are you?" she guessed.

"I don't think so." I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't disappear inconveniently again.

But outside the door to our Spanish class, leaning up against the wall was Edward, waiting for me. Jessica took one look, rolled her eyes, and departed.

"See you later, Bella." Her voice was thick with implications. I might have to turn off the ringer on the phone.

"Hello." His voice was amused and irritated at the same time. He had been listening, it was obvious.

"Hi."

I couldn't think of anything else to say, and he didn't speak — biding his time, I presumed — so it was a quiet walk to the cafeteria. Walking with Edward through the crowded lunchtime rush was a lot like my first day here; everyone stared.

He led the way into the line, still not speaking, though his eyes returned to my face every few seconds, their expression speculative. It seemed to me that irritation was winning out over amusement as the dominant emotion in his face. I fidgeted with the zipper on my jacket as I wondered what would happen if his irritation won. He seemed controlled enough to avoid a mass slaughter, though vampires seemed to be so temperamental I didn't rule out that possibility.

He stepped up to the counter and filled a tray with food. There was far too much for me to eat: half a pizza, two plates of chips, a sausage or two, a limp looking salad and what looked like half the fruit bar.

"What are you doing?" I objected. "You're not getting all that for me?"

He shook his head, stepping forward to buy the food.

"Half is for me, of course."

I raised one eyebrow. How much did he intend on eating?

He led the way to the same place we'd sat at that one time before. From the other end of the long table, a group of seniors gazed at us in amazement as we sat across from each other. Edward seemed oblivious.

"Take whatever you want," he said, pushing the tray toward me.

"I'm curious," I said as I picked up an apple, turning it around in my hands, "what would you do if someone dared you to eat food?" Would he eat it? Would he turn it down? What would be his excuse?

"You're always curious." He grimaced, shaking his head. He glared at me, holding my eyes as he lifted the slice of pizza off the tray, and deliberately bit off a mouthful, chewed quickly, and then swallowed. I watched, wondering what he would do with the food. Vampires had to have some digestive system for the blood, but if it only dealt with liquids what would be the reaction to solid food? Would he throw up? Or would it go through... the other end? Could vampires _do _that?

"If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" he asked.

"I wrinkled my nose."I did once… on a dare," I admitted. "It wasn't so bad." It had been Apollo who dared me; I got back at him by daring him to lick the exposed breast of one of the statues in Hera's temple. Her fury was hilarious.

He laughed. "I suppose I'm not surprised." His eyes flickered over myshoulder.

"Jessica's analyzing everything I do — she'll break it down for you later." Of course she was. I wondered if he approved of the conclusions she was drawing.

He pushed the rest of the pizza toward me. The mention of Jessica brought a hint of his former irritation back to his features, or maybe that was the ridiculous over-analysis he was suffering.

I put down the apple and took a bite of the pizza, looking away, knowing he was about to start. The pepperoni was too dry.

"So the waitress was pretty, was she?" he asked casually.

"You really didn't notice?"

"No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind."

"Poor girl." She was better off finding a normal human boyfriend though.

"Something you said to Jessica… well, it bothers me." He refused to be distracted. His voice was low, and he glanced up from under his lashes with troubled eyes. I wondered if he had ever taken a modelling course – he posed more than any male model I've ever seen, and I've dated a fair few of the centuries.

"I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like. You know what they say about eavesdroppers," I reminded him.

"I warned you I would be listening."

"And I warned you that you didn't want to know everything I was thinking." He certainly wouldn't want to know half the things I pondered on.

"You did," he agreed, but his voice was still rough. "You aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking — everything. I just wish… that you wouldn't be thinking some things."

I scowled. "That's quite a distinction." And also none of his business. He had no say in what I – nor anyone for that matter – should be thinking.

"But that's not really the point at the moment."

"Then what is?" We were inclined toward each other across the table now. He had his large white hands folded under his chin; I leaned forward, my right hand cupped around my neck. I had to remind myself that we were in a crowded lunchroom, with probably many curious eyes on us. It was too easy to get wrapped up in our own private, tense little bubble. I tried to relax my posture, even out the tension in my shoulders.

"Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing.

"You're doing it again," I muttered, as I pondered on how to reply to his question.

His eyes opened wide with surprise. "What?"

"Dazzling me," I said, making the two words sound like an admission.

"Oh." He frowned.

"It's not your fault," I lied. "You can't help it."

"Are you going to answer the question?"

I looked down. "Yes."

"Yes, you are going to answer, or yes, you really think that?" He was irritated again. I longed to remind him that patience was a virtue he really should learn, but it was the wrong time.

"Yes, I really think that." I lied, keeping my eyes down on the table, my eyes tracing the pattern of the faux wood grains printed on the laminate. The silence dragged on. I stubbornly refused to be the first to break it this time, fighting hard against the temptation to peek at his expression.

Finally he spoke, voice velvet soft. "You're wrong."

He like me! That was interesting. I had expected it to be very difficult to bring him round to me but now I knew he liked me, this would be as easy as stealing ambrosia from a naiad.

"You can't know that," I disagreed in a whisper. The next thing to establish was how much he liked me.

I shook my head in doubt.

"What makes you think so?" His golden eyes were penetrating — trying futilely, I assumed, to lift the truth straight from my mind. Why did I disbelieve him? I suppose he had conveniently forgotten all the times he had lied, or told half – truths to me.

I stared back to find some way to explain. As I searched for the words, I could see him getting impatient; frustrated by my silence, he started to scowl. I lifted my hand from my neck, and held up one finger.

"Let me think," I insisted. His expression cleared, now that he was satisfied that I was planning to answer. I dropped my hand to the table, moving my left hand so that my palms were pressed together. I stared at my hands, twisting and untwisting my fingers, as I finally spoke.

"Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes…" I hesitated. "I can't be sure —I don't know how to read minds — but sometimes it seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're saying something else." All the times when he had tried to make me stay away, all the twisted words.

"Perceptive," he whispered. "That's exactly why you're wrong, though," he began to explain, but then his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, 'the obvious'?"

"Well, look at me," I said, unnecessarily as he was already staring, gesturing to my uninspiring human visage.

"I'm absolutely ordinary — well, except for bad things like all the near-death experiences and being so clumsy that I'm almost disabled. And look at you." I waved my hand toward him and his inhuman image.

His brow creased angrily for a moment, then smoothed as his eyes took on a knowing look. "You don't see yourself very clearly, you know. I'll admit you're dead-on about the bad things," he chuckled blackly, "but you didn't hear what every human male in this school was thinking on your first day."

I blinked, astonished. "I don't believe it…" I mumbled to myself. If they thought I was pretty in this form...

"Trust me just this once — you are the opposite of ordinary." I knew that, of course. Being a goddess can hardly count as normal.

"But I'm not saying goodbye," I pointed out, trying to make him see that I wasn't trying to separate us; I didn't want to be parted.

"Don't you see? That's what proves me right. I care the most, because if I can do it" — he shook his head, seeming to struggle with the thought — "if leaving is the right thing to do, then I'll hurt myself to keep from hurting you, to keep you safe."

I raise an inner eyebrow. He was that attached already? This human form must not be as repulsive as I assumed.

I then glared. "And you don't think I would do the same?"

"You'd never have to make the choice."

I frowned. It was clear that Cullen had assumed he would be the decision maker in this relationship, which irked me. I might have to stand down, be submissive, in this relationship to make it work.

Abruptly, his unpredictable mood shifted again; a mischievous, devastating smile rearranged his features. "Of course, keeping you safe is beginning to feel like a full-time occupation that requires my constant presence."

"No one has tried to do away with me today," I joked.

I didn't want him to talk about goodbyes anymore. If I had to, I supposed I could purposefully put myself in danger to keep him close… I banished that thought before his quick eyes read it on my face. That idea would definitely get me in trouble, both here and on Olympus.

"Yet," he added.

"Yet," I agreed; I would have argued, but now I wanted him to be expecting disasters.

"I have another question for you." His face was still casual.

"Shoot." I mimed firing a starting pistol.

"Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday, or was that just an excuse to get out of saying no to all your admirers?" He smirked as the scowl crossed my face.

"I haven't forgiven you for the Tyler thing yet," I warned him. "It's your fault that he's deluded himself into thinking I'm going to prom with him." If I ever was alone with him again, I would talk him out of the presumption. I would spare him the embarrassment of turning him down in front of his friends.

"Oh, he would have found a chance to ask you without me — I just really wanted to watch your face," he chuckled.

"If I'd asked you, would you have turned me down?" he asked, still laughing to himself.

"Probably not," I faked the admission. "But I would have cancelled later — faked an illness or a sprained ankle."

He was puzzled. "Why would you do that?" Most girls would enjoy a high school dance; then again, I wasn't a normal girl.

I shook my head sadly. "You've never seen me in Gym, I guess, but I would have thought you would understand."

"Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"

"Obviously." It was like the little balancing mechanism in my ears was faulty.

"That wouldn't be a problem." He was very confident. "It's all in the leading." He would be able to dance well, I was confident of that. The way he spoke was like one from another century: a century when knowing how to dance well was as important as knowing your ABCs.

He could see that I was about to protest though, and he cut me off. "But you never told me — are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"

As long as the "we" part was in, I didn't care about anything else. Another chance, away from public eye, to pester him about his vampirism, was exactly what I wanted.

"I'm open to alternatives," I allowed. "But I do have a favour to ask." One that I wouldn't negotiate.

He looked wary, as he always did when I asked an open-ended question. "What?"

"Can I drive?" I would not let him go behind the wheel of my truck. He would murder the rust bucket.

He frowned. "Why?"

"Well, mostly because when I told Charlie I was going to Seattle, he specifically asked if I was going alone and, at the time, I was. If he asked again, I probably wouldn't lie, but I don't think he will ask again, and leaving my truck at home would just bring up the subject unnecessarily. And also, because your driving frightens me."

He rolled his eyes. "Of all the things about me that could frighten you, you worry about my driving." He shook his head in disgust, but then his eyes were serious again. "Won't you want to tell your father that you're spending the day with me?" Another clue to his home time period – women would have to let their father know exactly where they went and who they went with.

"With Charlie, less is always more." I was definite about that. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye… and you can stay with me, if you'd like to." Again, he was leaving the choice up to me, and the fact that the option to chose what I did was so infrequent that I noted it each time annoyed me.

"And you'll show me what you meant, about the sun?" I asked, excited by the idea of unravelling another of the unknowns.

"Yes." He smiled, and then paused. "But if you don't want to be… alone with me, I'd still rather you didn't go to Seattle by yourself. I shudder to think of the trouble you could find in a city that size."

I was miffed. "Phoenix is three times bigger than Seattle — just in population. In physical size —" I had lived in some of the busiest, crime – ridden metropolises of the past three millennia, and he thought I couldn't handle Seattle?

"But apparently," he interrupted me, "your number wasn't up in Phoenix. So I'd rather you stayed near me." He was exercising his control over me again.

"As it happens, I don't mind being alone with you."

"I know," he sighed, brooding. "You should tell Charlie, though."

"Why in the world would I do that?"

His eyes were suddenly fierce. "To give me some small incentive to bring you back."

I gulped, and raised my inner eyebrow once more. He couldn't kidnap _me_. But, after a moment of thought, I was sure. "I think I'll take my chances."

He exhaled angrily, and looked away.

"Let's talk about something else," I suggested, my thoughts straying back to the possibilities of what would happen when he lost his temper.

"What do you want to talk about?" he asked. He was still annoyed.

I glanced around us, making sure we were well out of anyone's hearing. As I cast my eyes around the room, I caught the eyes of his sister, Alice, staring at me. The others were looking at Edward. I wondered what their opinions on our relationship were. I looked away swiftly, back to him, and I asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Why did you go to that Goat Rocks place last weekend… to hunt? Charlie said it wasn't a good place to hike, because of bears."

He stared at me as if I was missing something very obvious.

"Bears?" I gasped, and he smirked. "You know, bears are not in season," I added sternly, to hide my shock. Somehow, I had assumed they would hunt much smaller animals – animals much easier for one with a human form to catch.

"If you read carefully, the laws only cover hunting with weapons," he informed me. What did he hunt with, then?

He watched my face with enjoyment as that slowly sank in.

"Bears?" I repeated with difficulty.

"Grizzly is Emmett's favourite." His voice was still offhand, but his eyes were scrutinizing my reaction. I tried to pull myself together, and not show my astonishment.

"Hmmm," I said, taking another bite of pizza as an excuse to look down. I chewed slowly, and then took a long drink of Coke without looking up.

"So," I said after a moment, finally meeting his now-anxious gaze. "What's your favourite?" Deer? Elk?

He raised an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth turned down in disapproval.

"Mountain lion." Interesting. They were huge.

"Ah," I said in a politely disinterested tone, looking for my soda again.

"Of course," he said, and his tone mirrored mine, "we have to be careful not to impact the environment with injudicious hunting. We try to focus on areas with an overpopulation of predators — ranging as far away as we need. There's always plenty of deer and elk here, and they'll do, but where's the fun in that?"

He smiled teasingly.

"Where indeed," I murmured around another bite of pizza. Environmental impact? Overpopulation of predators? The Cullens clearly put more thought into their hunting than I had assumed.

"Early spring is Emmett's favourite bear season — they're just coming out of hibernation, so they're more irritable." He smiled at some remembered joke. Emmett sounded a lot like Apollo. They would get on like a house on fire if they ever met.

"Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear," I agreed, nodding sagely, picturing Apollo's snigger.

He snickered, shaking his head. "Tell me what you're really thinking, please."

"I'm trying to picture it — but I can't," I admitted. "How do you hunt a bear without weapons?"

"Oh, we have weapons." He flashed his bright teeth in a brief, threatening smile. I fought back a shiver before it could expose me. "Just not the kind they consider when writing hunting laws. If you've ever seen a bear attack on television, you should be able to visualize Emmett hunting."

I couldn't stop the next shiver that flashed down my spine. Wow. They used their _teeth_?

I peeked across the cafeteria toward Emmett, grateful that he wasn't looking my way. The thick bands of muscle that wrapped his arms and torso were somehow even more menacing now. I did not want to visualise what I would look like after getting on _his _naughty list.

Edward followed my gaze and chuckled. I stared at him, unnerved.

"Are you like a bear, too?" I asked in a low voice, trying to imagine Cullen, in that ivy sweater, wrestling a bear.

"More like the lion, or so they tell me," he said lightly. "Perhaps our preferences are indicative."

I tried to smile. "Perhaps," I repeated. But my mind was filled with opposing images that I couldn't merge together. "Is that something I might get to see?" The information I could gain! Hunting techniques, attack formations! Ares would have a field trip.

"Absolutely not!" His face turned even whiter than usual, and his eyes were suddenly furious. I leaned back, stunned and — though I'd never admit it to him — frightened by his reaction. He leaned back as well, folding his arms across his chest, glaring at me.

"Too scary for me?" I asked when I could control my voice again.

"If that were it, I would take you out tonight," he said, his voice cutting. "You need a healthy dose of fear. Nothing could be more beneficial for you."

Oh, I know the benefit of fear, Cullen. I am the goddess of bravery and courage: I know the effect fear has on the mind, how it can power you, limit you, choke you. A lecture on fear is the last thing _I _need.

"Then why?" I pressed, trying to ignore his angry expression.

He glared at me for a long minute.

"Later," he finally said. He was on his feet in one lithe movement. "We're going to be late."

I glanced around, startled to see that he was right and the cafeteria was nearly empty. A glance at the clock on the wall told me we only had a few minutes to get to our next class –Biology. I jumped up, grabbing my bag from the back of my chair.

"Later, then," I agreed. I wouldn't forget.

**Reviews are, as always, very welcome and replied to, unless I have accidentally deleted them, which has only happen once. If I haven't replied, please tell me and I will reply right away.**

**Also, if you didn't read the AN at the top, I have reposted chapter three. It is much better and more coherent so please read it.**


	6. Apologies, and an end

Hello readers!

Goddess in Disguise has been adopted! The altered and continued version is now being updated on Wattpad under the same name, and the author now is FreakyWitch. Unfortunately, she can't post it on this website.

The story has some slight alterations so far, but is fantastic and I hope you will continue to read it!

~L.L.L.L.M


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